Eyes: Journal #4

Page 77, paragraph 3.

Syntax: In this passage Hurston uses several simple sentences to describe Joe. I think Hurston uses these simple sentences in order to emphasize Joe's age and the sluggish feeling associated with age. For instance, "Eyes a little absent too" (77) is a simple sentence that shows age. Hurston also uses more complex sentences when giving more of a picture for the audience, for instance when referring to his belly, "His prosperous-looking belly that used to thrust out so pugnaciously and intimidate folks, sagged like a load suspended from his loins" (77).

Word Choice: First off, in this paragraph Hurston has Janie refer to Joe as "Joe" or "him" but in the nest paragraph she has Janie call him "Jody". In previous parts of the book, Hurston has used his different names depending on other characters feelings about him, but I think that specifically in this paragraph the use of "joe" was due to the fact that the paragraph was solely describing his old age and how he had changed. Secondly, when Hurston talks about his belly, she says it had once been pugnacious, then states that it now sags bellow his loins. The connotations of the word "loins" is usually a woman's womb, so Hurston is emasculating Joe in the comparison between how he used to be intimidating and now he has is stomach hanging below his womb.

Tone: To an extent the tone is sort has sort of a matter-of-fact feel to it, but there is also a sense of Hurston wanting the reader to belittle Joe in his old age. The way Hurston compares how Joe used to sit, to how he now falls, there is a feeling of a lack of compassion toward Joe. In the last two sentences of the paragraph Hurston seems to be absent from the writing, portraying a sense of old tiredness that is Joe, and how she is tired of him.

Sound Devices: In the paragraph as a whole there is a repeating "s" sound, "He didn't rear back in his knees any longer. He squatted over his shoulders when he walked." (77). The repeating "s" sound seems tired, and tends to drone on and on, adding emphasis to Joe's age. The "s" sound has a flow to it that just keeps going, but without energy or compassion like Janie herself.